A rare winter red tide grown on the coast near Xiangshan Port in east China's Zhejiang Province since January has gradually faded out, the provincial marine monitoring center said in Hangzhou Thursday.

 

The center said that the red tide expanded to about a dozen square kilometers since Jan. 16. It was caused by a kind of algae, which is not poisonous to seashell life.

 

Although the red tide did not cause much trouble to the marine environment, experts here observed that it was the first time that a red tide was monitored in winter in sea area of Zhejiang.

 

The occurrence of red tides along the coastal area becomes more frequent due to environmental pollution, which produces ultrophication to algae. They often occur between May and June, since the weather during the period is favorable for the growth of algae.

 

(Xinhua News Agency February 10, 2006)